Linda Simpson’s The Drag Explosion

Presented by DL: Los Angeles and ONE Archives in conjunction with the Museum of Transgender Hirstory & Art's exhibition "Transgender Hirstory in 99 Objects: Legends and Mythologies" "The Drag Explosion" is an evolving multi-media “slideshow extravaganza” created by New York performer and nightlife personality Linda Simpson. From the underground East Village club scene and the birth of Wigstock in the late 1980s, to the AIDS activism and mainstream drag explosion of the early 1990s heralded by Supermodel of the World RuPaul, Simpson’s snapshots document the flamboyant performances and offstage advocacy of the era’s drag community. Simpson’s subjects include RuPaul, Lady Bunny, Tabboo!, Tom Rubnitz, Billy Beyond, Willi Ninja, Page, Hapi Phace, John Kelly, Deee-Lite, Lypsinka and, of course, Ms. Simpson herself. For this performance, the first iteration of "The Drag Explosion" to be presented outside of New York, Simpson will provide live narration to accompany her photos and host a post-performance Q&A. Support for "Linda Simpson’s The Drag Explosion" is provided by the City of West Hollywood through its Arts and Cultural Affairs Commission. Additional support is provided by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. More information on this performance here: http://one.usc.edu/linda-simpson/ More information on MOTHA's "Transgender Hirstory in 99 Objects: Legends and Mythologies" here: http://one.usc.edu/motha/ Bio Linda Simpson began her multifaceted drag career in the late 1980s. Simpson has contributed to the New York drag scene as a nightlife personality, media maven, performer, game-show hostess and drag documentarian. Known for her witty demeanor, fine-tuned camp sensibility and a unique blend of sass and class, Linda enthusiastically embraces the role she was born to play – a reigning queen! Her recently published monograph, Pages, is her heartfelt homage to her captivating transgender friend, Page, who passed away in July 2002. Set in bygone gritty New York City in the 1990s, Simpson’s snapshots recall Page’s mysterious beauty, outlandish sense of style, and provocative performances that made her a cult figure of downtown’s gender-bending nightlife scene. All of the portraits were spontaneous shots taken with simple, point-and-shoot, 35 mm cameras. About MOTHA The Museum of Transgender Hirstory & Art, or MOTHA, was founded in 2013, with the mission of bringing a cohesive visual history of transgender culture into existence. In doing so, the museum asks us to think critically about what transgender visual history would look like, how it should be organized, and if it is even possible to compile such a history around an identity category that is relatively new, still evolving, and often contested. MOTHA also critically interrogates contemporary arts institutionalization and developments within museum practices, with an eye to the transgender artist’s relationship to them. MOTHA is an imaginary museum. While it is forever “under construction,” it takes the form of temporary autonomous events, including performances, exhibitions, panel discussions, public programs, and other occasions that envision the existence of a legitimate and legitimizing arts and history institution dedicated to the cultural work of trans artists, hirstorians, and scholars. About DL: Los Angeles A salon of influences, Dirty Looks began as a New York-based roaming screening series, an open platform for inquiry, discussion and debate. Designed to trace contemporary queer aesthetics through historical works, DL: Los Angeles presents quintessential GLBTQ film and video, alongside up-and-coming artists and filmmakers. DL: Los Angeles exhibits a lineage of queer tactics and visual styles for younger artists, casual viewers and seasoned avant-garde filmgoers, alike. DL: Los Angeles is organized by Bradford Nordeen and Clara López Menéndez. Over the course of four years, Dirty Looks has staged local screening initiatives at The Museum of Modern Art, The Kitchen, Participant Inc, White Columns, Artists Space and Judson Memorial Church, with a Roadshow touring the West Coast yearly. Dirty Looks: On Location, a month of queer interventions in New York City spaces, was founded in 2012, installing moving image work in significant queer spaces – both contemporary and shuttered – throughout the city. A biennial initiative, On Location will return to New York City streets in July 2015. More